A/N: I've got a double update today so chapter 54 immediately follows. Sorry if this chap is long. Again I hope this makes sense and you enjoy. Please don't forget to send me reviews. Reviews are love. *wink*

Chapter 53

"How did it go?" Adam asked as Teela entered his chambers through the secret passageway later that evening.

"Okay," she replied with a shrug and a faraway look in her eye.

Adam eyed her. "Just okay?"

"Well it was better than that," she confessed. "It actually went better than expected. However at one point, Father appeared as if he would pop a blood vessel when I got to the part about Beastman but overall, it was rather cathartic," she elaborated.

With a pensive look, Adam replied, "Did you offer details?"

Teela nodded. "Yes, but only slightly more than what I told you," she replied as she plopped down on his bed to remove her boots. She suddenly straightened and snapped her head to Adam.

"Now listen you," she began. "Before you get any ideas, I had to give him more because he's my father," she hastily explained. "You on the other hand, armed with detailed information about the assault would have stalked off and killed him, my love," she stated, a finger waving in the air.

Adam had opened his mouth to reply before receiving his girlfriend's stern reprimand. He froze, thought for a moment then nodded in acquiescence. Suddenly feigning innocence, he replied, "Love, I would never do that," he teased. "I told you last night that you could trust me." The corner of his mouth curled slightly. "Any bodily harm done to Beastman would all be in simple, honest to goodness self-defense," he replied with a wink.

She shook her head, stood, and sauntered over to him wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," she clicked with her tongue. "I'll have to find a way to punish you for lying, you naughty boy," she flirted as she kissed him soundly.

"Bring it," he replied cheekily as they kissed again.

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Adam, already bathed and dressed, threw a few logs onto the fire in his bed chambers as Teela showered and got ready for bed. The room took on a warm golden glow.

Teela entered while toweling her hair dry and stopped to watch a shirtless Adam dressed in sky blue silk bottoms. He was kneeling on one knee and carefully stoking the flames.

"Mmmm…that's nice," she purred.

Adam straightened and glanced over his shoulder. "Tone, madam. Watch the tone," he playfully warned before turning his attention back to the fire.

She giggled as she finished her hair and tossed the plush bath towel onto his bed. She then reached for her comb which sat on the night stand and began detangling her long red tresses.

Satisfied with his work, Adam brushed his hands together, stood, and disappeared into the guest suite emerging several minutes later.

Watching her comb her hair, he asked, "Do you need me to stay with you again?"

Teela stopped for a moment and pondered tapping her comb against the palm of her opposite hand.

"Not overnight, but I would like to cuddle a bit," she replied with a hopeful gaze. Then abruptly looking away she added, "But if you're too tired…," she began with a little wave.

"No, I'm not," he replied cutting her off slightly.

His gaze dropped slightly to her gown; a spaghetti strapped soft pale pink cotton nightie be-speckled with tiny red Eternian Gallerberries. The Prince smiled at the simple gown appreciating the way it draped her athletic yet feminine frame.

"What?" Teela asked defensively.

Adam snorted. "Cute," he replied with an eyebrow waggle.

Teela snorted back, "You're such a goofball." She tossed her comb onto the nightstand and straightened a bit to eye him, offering an appraisal of her own.

His sky blue satiny pajama bottoms accentuated the smooth tanned skin of his arms, chest, and abs and brought out the sapphire hue of his eyes. At the moment, the waistband drooped a bit revealing that beautiful V-shaped pelvic muscle.

They both stared for a moment, standing on opposite sides of the bed. Adam gazed at the fire's reflection in Teela's eyes which seemed to cause her emerald orbs to sparkle with life. They each simultaneously drew a breath and exhaled slowly.

"You're going to be alright, Tee," Adam remarked as he held her gaze. "The fire in those emerald jewels is still there. Although they tried, they couldn't douse it," he observed.

Teela started in surprise at his insight and managed a smile. "Thank you," she choked out, her voice thick with emotion.

Adam approached, rested a knee on his side of the bed, and took a breath. He then slowly climbed toward the center and leaned against the ornate headboard, legs out-stretched, ankles crossed. He held his right hand out to her palm up, his eyes slightly shadowed.

Eyes locked on his, Teela put her hand in his savoring its strength and warmth and climbed atop the soft mattress. She cuddled against him as he wrapped his arms around her, she resting her head under his jaw.

They sat there quietly locked in each other's arms under the glow of the crackling fire, listening to the rhythmic sounds of their quiet breathing.

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Teela awoke with a start to a darkened room. She had apparently fallen asleep but found herself alone and tucked underneath the warm bed covers. She rose to an elbow.

"Adam?"

No response.

Her heart began to beat in her chest.

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The dual energy volts knocked He-Man off his feet. Although he successfully blocked it with his power sword, the sheer force of the magic sent him flying into a nearby tree trunk. The tree shivered in protest shedding a few leaves to the ground.

He fell to one knee, one hand palming the ground. The blast messed with his equilibroception causing the ground to spin wildly. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head as the ringing in his ears sang loudly.

Evil-Lyn stood triumphantly in the middle of the forest's clearing, her violet eyes laughing as she watched the Warrior silently climb to his feet.

"What's the matter, Blondie?" the witch taunted. "Can't handle a woman's touch?" she snickered as she gripped a double-headed sorceress' wand in her hand.

"My name…is He-Man," he threw back, his deep voice raspy from the exertion of speaking as he slowly approached her.

A cold chill ran up her spine at the mention of his name. A flicker of fear shot across her features but she quickly schooled her expression to one of amusement.

"He-Man?" she repeated with sudden curiosity. "Very nice," she purred, her voice dripping with lust, her eyes raking over his muscular body. He now stood erect directly in front of her gripping his sword.

"Not exactly," he quipped as he, faster than the eye could track, flipped the grip of his sword from forward to reverse and slashed upward and across, slicing the magic-laden heads of her wand off causing them to spark and crackle, sputtering pitifully to the ground in pieces.

Evil-Lyn flinched, the lightning fast movement catching her off guard. She drew back a few steps, her eyes wide, her jaw dropping open.

He paused in a defensive stance; left foot forward, one back, left palm forward, right arm behind him with his blade in a reverse grip hiding behind his right tricep.

"You still think I'm nice?" he asked as he eyed her with a cold, flinty blue stare.

She furrowed her brow in apprehension at his close proximity then quickly regained her composure.

"You wouldn't strike an unarmed woman now, would you?" she appealed with a phony helpless gaze.

"Right," he scoffed. "Unarmed."

With that she back flipped to create distance between them and shot deadly volts from her right hand.

Anticipating the move, He-Man spun left and dropped and rolled to evade the volts of energy. He then rose to a knee and deflected the volts back at the witch.

The volts hit and stung her in rapid succession, she being too slow to move away from the oncoming sorcery. Her body crumpled to the ground.

He-Man rose to his feet and sheathed his sword, watching her limp body to ensure it wasn't a trick. He finally cautiously moved to her and, concerned for all life, he knelt over her and felt for a pulse. It was weak but present.

Just then, the base of his neck tingled and he whirled around in time to see a revolving blade headed straight for his neck. He quickly bent backward evading the blade then back flipped several times to evade two others headed toward him. The shiny sharp blades barely missed him and lodged themselves into a nearby tree.

He-Man took a kokutsu-dachi back stance as his eyes searched the cold, silent woods; it was cold and dark at nearly 4AM.

His ears picked up a low, guttural growl as his blue gaze settled on a large, hairy silhouette emerging from the dark thick brush. He-Man's eyes narrowed in pure anger as the villain entered the clearing.

"So, you've come for more?" Beastman sneered, his deep gravelly voice growling as he bore his sharp fangs.

He-Man wordlessly stood deathly still, his cold blue stare trained on the hairy, hump-backed villain.

"Hey, I'm talkin' to you!" Beastman demanded loudly.

Again, He-Man stood completely still without a reply.

"Are you scared or somethin'? Afraid I'm gonna mess up that pretty face?" he taunted as he awkwardly lumbered forward, each step bringing him dangerously closer to Greyskull's Warrior.

Again, no movement except for a slight flare of the nostrils in response.

Beastman was now within two feet of He-Man, his beady piercing eyes blinking in confusion. "Hey, what's wrong with you?"

When he again received no reply, he lost his temper. He roared at the sky and beat his chest before lunging toward He-Man in a murderous rage.

He-Man in turn lunged forward, moving quickly to the side and locking the villain in a deadly chokehold. He angrily clenched his jaw as Beastman squirmed and gurgled, his hands waving wildly as he struggled to get free.

After five seconds, suddenly the Warrior's mind snapped back to reason and he quickly released Beastman dropping him heavily to the ground. He-Man raised his hands and backed away, his eyes wide with concern. He knew he almost killed him. He now had to struggle to remain objective and stay emotionally disconnected in order to retain his humanity.

Coughing, Beastman on his knees, put a hand to this throat and wheezed, sputtering and choking until finally regaining his composure.

"I gave you that one, human," he gloated, spitting blood onto the ground. "Now we fight."

The two slowly circled one another, each evaluating the other until Beastman leapt at He-Man, the latter catching him in the air and wrestling him to the ground. He-Man landed a right and left cross to his jaw, blood spraying everywhere as they rolled on the ground. Beastman threw a punch to He-Man's right eye as they viciously traded blows.

Quickly gaining the upper hand and straddling his back, He-Man bent Beastman's left arm behind him causing him to howl in pain. The beast then bucked sending the blonde Warrior tumbling forward, his left shoulder hitting the ground hard as he rolled his back.

Beastman scrambled to his feet and pounced, He-Man pushing him off with his legs sending him toppling backward and landing on a prickly pine bush.

The villain let out a scream of pain as he jumped free and began to pick prickly pines off of his auburn fur. The Warrior quickly shot to his feet and waited, watching for his next move.

He-Man caught movement in his peripheral and his head snapped to Evil-Lyn who was beginning to stir. Beastman thought to take advantage of the distraction and charged. With a roar, the hairy beast attempted to tackle his opponent but instead, He-Man shifted right and grabbed him putting him in another chokehold, the force of Beastman's forward motion propelling them both forward. He-Man dug his boots into the ground to stop the motion.

This time, He-Man checked his strength and eased up slightly, forcing Beastman softly into unconsciousness before letting him drop carefully to the ground.

With both of Skeletor's lackeys down, Eternia's Defender scanned the brush, every sense heightened in awareness. When no one else appeared, He-Man grabbed several strips of kuntu vine, stripped the leaves, and tied both villains' wrists behind their backs. He then tossed them over each shoulder and ran at top speed back towards the palace.

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"Sorceress…," he called.

"I am here, He-Man," a soft lilting voice echoed.

"Please alert Man-At-Arms that I have prisoners. ETA five minutes," he projected back.

"I already have, young warrior. May I commend you on not allowing your anger over Teela's violation to cloud your better judgment," she replied, pride filling her voice.

He-Man winced as he sprinted through the trees and brush. "I almost lost it and crossed the line, Teela'na" he pointed out.

"And yet, you did not. Your good nature and the vow you made to Teela were stronger than your need for vengeance, He-Man," she countered.

"I guess," his mind muttered.

There was a pause. "Man-At-Arms is readying the holding cells."

"Thank you, Sorceress."

"You are welcome." Another pause. "And…thank you…for your kindness to Teela in light of her ordeal," she stated as her voice slowly drifted from his mind.

He grinned mischievously.